Southern University Chancellor James Llorens could not garner enough votes to keep his job, and was likely ousted due to ongoing issues on the Baton Rouge campus.

Chairwoman Bridget Dinvaut says the board has spoken. Dinvaut says it’s several operational issues on the Baton Rouge campus and the board has to address personnel specifically, which led to her voting twice not to extend Llorens' contract.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges placed the university on probation in December 2012 for failure to submit proper documentation, a national organization voted to impose a censure on Southern this past June, and the university’s athletic teams have been banned from post-season play stemming from an NCAA investigation into the academic progress that dates back to 2009.

Most of these issues have been rectified and began before Llorens took the chancellor position in 2011 but some board members were not willing to give the chancellor any more time.

Although Llorens appears to be popular among students and supporters, that was enough to keep him, as the board voted Monday 8-7 not to renew his contract. That outcome was similar to the board’s 9-6 vote in Shreveport on Feb. 7.

Board member Myron Lawson, who voted twice to extend Llorens contract, says the university has been dealing with budget cuts, financial exigency and System President Ronald Mason’s transformation plan.

“That takes time to implement,” he said.

Lawson says Llorens had to deal with infrastructure matters, along with several other issues he had inherited.

“I believed that he should have had another opportunity to address these issues, but my colleagues thought otherwise,” Lawson said.

Lawson said with the added benchmarks for the chancellor, along with Mason’s original recommendation of having the chancellor’s assistance on campus assessments that would have been enough to get Llorens another year.

“This Monday was the closest we could get to try to get everyone on board,” he said.

The board will hold at least two board meetings before Llorens’ contract expires on June 30.

“I don’t ever say never, but it comes a time when you have to move on, and the board has spoken,” Lawson said when asked if he would entertain another attempt to keep Llorens. “The people have spoken. The bottom line is nine people on this board decide what happens. And I think those nine are pretty much solid.”

Dinvaut says she’s unsure if a national search will be implemented to find the next chancellor but a monolithic approach will be put in place.